كلا

Arabic

Etymology 1

From Proto-Semitic *kilʾ-.

Pronoun

كِلَا • (kilā) m (feminine كِلْتَا (kiltā))

1. both
   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 17:23:

     ۞ وَقَضَىٰ رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعۡبُدُوۤا۟ إِلَّاۤ إِيَّاهُ وَبِٱلۡوَ ٰ⁠لِدَيۡنِ إِحۡسَـٰنًاۚ إِمَّا يَبۡلُغَنَّ عِندَكَ ٱلۡكِبَرَ أَحَدُهُمَاۤ أَوۡ كِلَاهُمَا فَلَا تَقُل لَّهُمَاۤ أُفࣲّ وَلَا تَنۡهَرۡهُمَا وَقُل لَّهُمَا قَوۡلࣰا كَرِيمࣰا

     wa-qaḍā rabbuka ʾallā taʿbudū ʾillā ʾiyyāhu wa-bi-l-walidayni ʾiḥsanan ʾimmā yabluḡanna ʿindaka l-kibara ʾaḥaduhumā ʾaw kilāhumā fa-lā taqul lahumā ʾuffin wa-lā tanharhumā wa-qul lahumā qawlan karīman

     And your Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him, and to parents, good treatment. Whether one or both of them reach old age with you, say not to them , "uff," and do not repel them but speak to them a noble word.

   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 18:33:

     كِلۡتَا ٱلۡجَنَّتَيۡنِ ءَاتَتۡ أُكُلَهَا وَلَمۡ تَظۡلِم مِّنۡهُ شَيۡـࣰٔاۚ وَفَجَّرۡنَا خِلَـٰلَهُمَا نَهَرࣰا

     kiltā l-jannatayni ʾātat ʾukulahā wa-lam taẓlim minhu šayʾan wa-fajjarnā ḵilalahumā naharan

     Each of the two gardens produced its fruit and did not fall short thereof in anything. And We caused to gush forth within them a river.

Usage notes

• كِلَا (kilā) inflects for gender to match the noun or pronoun it modifies. It only inflects for case when followed by a pronoun; when followed by a noun, it is always in the nominative case regardless of syntax. The following noun or pronoun is always in the genitive dual (an idafa construction). Thus بِكِلْتَا يَدَيْهِ ― bikiltā yadayhi ― "with both his hands" has the nominative form كِلْتَا (kiltā), despite the syntax calling for a genitive, but بِكِلْتَيْهِمَا ― bikiltayhimā ― "with both of them (fem.)" uses the genitive form كِلْتَيْ (kiltay) in the same syntactic context.

Declension

Etymology 2

Interjection

كَلَّا • (kallā)

1. (expressing disagreement, denial, or contradiction) no; no way, absolutely not; never, by no means

   Antonym: بَلَى (balā)

   كَلَّا ثُمَّ كَلَّا ― kallā ṯumma kallā ― no and no again, a thousand times no, over my dead body, not on my life

2. (expressing emphasis) indeed, verily
   1. (expressing disapproval or reprimanding) no!
      • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, section 102:

        أَلْهَاكُمُ التَّكَاثُرُ / حَتَّى زُرْتُمُ الْمَقَابِرَ / كَلَّا سَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ / ثُمَّ كَلَّا سَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ / كَلَّا لَوْ تَعْلَمُونَ عِلْمَ الْيَقِينِ / لَتَرَوُنَّ الْجَحِيمَ / ثُمَّ لَتَرَوُنَّهَا عَيْنَ الْيَقِينِ / ثُمَّ لَتُسْأَلُنَّ يَوْمَئِذٍ عَنِ النَّعِيمِ

        ʔalhākumu t-takāṯuru / ḥattā zurtumu l-maqābira / kallā sawfa taʕlamūna / ṯumma kallā sawfa taʕlamūna / kallā law taʕlamūna ʕilma l-yaqīni / latarawunna l-jaḥīma / ṯumma latarawunnahā ʕayna l-yaqīni / ṯumma latusʔalunna yawmaʔiḏin ʕani n-naʕīmi

        Augmentation distracted you / till you visited the graves. / No! You shall know! / Indeed, you shall know! / No! If only you knew of the certainty! / You shall see hell! / You shall see it with certainty! / Then you shall be asked that day about leisure!

Derived terms

• حَاشَا وَكَلَّا (ḥāšā wakallā, idiom)

Gulf Arabic

Noun

كِلا or كَلا • (kila or kala)

1. Alternative form of كلى (“to eat”)